Rioting Breaks Out Against Tolls In Santa
Ana
Burning tires and tree branches in the
middle of the road and the throwing of rocks
against vehicles forced the complete closure
of the autopista Próspero Fernández between
Guachilepin and Santa Ana last night in a
riot that lasted several hours.
The disturbance that began minutes after 7pm
last night was by a group of local residents
upset about the charging of tolls on the
road to Caldera, as it is commonly kwown,
and for the immediate dismissal of
Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)
minister, Karla González.
One resident and alleged leader of the
manifestation that got out of hand, Cinthya
Crespo, said that the community is tired of
the problems of the highway, mainly the poor
quality of the work by the highway's
concession, Autopistas del Sol.
The residents say they have been lied to and
are being continually duped by MOPT
officials.
The major complaints are the location of the
pedestrian overpasses, which according to
the residents, are too far away from the
normal crossings and bus stops on the road.
In particular attention is the overpass at
Santa Ana which is more than 500 metres from
the Santa Ana intersection, people being
forced to walk on the highway as there is no
sidewalk.
However, the MOPT assures that the
complaints of the residents are being
considered and that the municipality of
Santa Ana has been granted permits to build
more bus bays and the construction of an
additional pedestrian bridge at Pozos and
that the Consejo de Transporte Público
(Public Transporation Board) will be
approving more buses on the Santa Ana - San
José route.
The protestors forced the complete closure
of the highway and a confrontation ensued
when the Unidad de Intervención Policial (UIP)
- riot squad - arrived on the scene, who
were met by rocks being thrown at them,
several impacting the UIP bus windshield.
Burning tires and branches kept the riot
atmosphere going, providing fuel for the
protestors to engage police, which kept
their calm, removing the UIP bus from the
scene, but kept with its engine running
nearby.
The rioters calmed down by 9pm with a total
of 24 protestors arrested.
The organizers of the protest vowed to take
their manifestations to the front of the
Legislative Assembly in San José, to see
which of the legislators are behind what is
being called the big lie.
"This highway was paid for 25 years ago",
shouted one protestor for the news cameras,
referring to the time it has taken from the
first plans to build the highway to the
Pacific coast to today where parts of the
highway - like the 40 kilometres between
Santa Ana and Orotina - are still
incomplete.
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